Plagiarism; Effective Note-Taking
Plagiarism
is a serious form of academic dishonesty and is frowned upon in the
academe. It is defined as the copying verbatim of language and ideas of
other writers and taking credit for them.
All OF THE FOLLOWING ARE CONSIDERED PLAGIARISM:
Turning in someone else’s work as your own
Copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
Failing to put a quotation marks
Giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
Changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without
giving credit
Copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority
of your work, whether you give credit or not
Two Types of Plagiarism
1. Plagiarism of Ideas - occurs when credit for work is ascribed to oneself
untruthfully.
For instance, if one writes a paper on the theory of relativity of physics
and no mention of einstein is given. The writer explicitly or implicitly
claims that this theory is his or hers.
2. Plagiarism of language - happens when an author uses language of
another writer and claims it as his or her own.
There are several types of plagiarism of language:
1. word-for-word
2. Simply cite the author but copies the whole text verbatim
3. Patchwork plagiarism
Note-Taking
It is a method of recording ideas, concepts, and information from different
sources and authors. It involves different techniques such as summarizing,
using quotations, and paraphrasing to address plagiarism of language. The
language must observe novelty such that it expresses the ideas of works
cited but at the same time employs the voice of the author.
CITATIONS TO AVOID PLAGIARISM OF IDEAS
1. AUTHOR- ORIENTED CITATION
It starts with the surname of the author, followed by the year of
publication in parentheses. Verbs of statement such as argues, posits, and
emphasizes at the start of the paragraph or sentence may be used.
Example: Pulido (2012) believes that language in an online environment
can be understood if other modes of online communication are further
analyzed to provide a full account of interaction in virtual worlds.
2. TEXT- ORIENTED CITATION
A paragraph or sentence from a source is followed with the surname of the
author of the work and the year of publication. The citation must be
enclosed in parentheses.
Example: Unless educators realize the importance of reading and writing
across subject areas, problems in comprehension of subject matter will be
a prominent issue in the teaching learning process (Estacio, 2010).
3. ANOTHER WAY OF CITATION
Start the sentence or paragraph by using the phrase “According to…”
followed by the surname of the author and the year of publication
enclosed in parentheses.
Example: According to Mendoza (1990), by the end of the century, our
fuel reserves will be reduced to half, and scarcity of energy supplies will
be a big problem.
CITATIONS FOR MOVIES, IMAGES, AND MUSIC
The general rule is that the author, title of the work (may it be image,
movie, or music) and year it was produced (if applicable) be included
in the citation.
CITATIONS FOR MOVIES, IMAGES, AND MUSIC
Videos
Spencer’s (2009) “The Matchmaker” shows different experiences of artists
when they struggle with stardom and deal with the consequences of fame
and fortune.
“The Matchmaker” (Spencer, 2009) accurately captures the trials and
tribulations of fame and fortune of artists making it big in show business.
Images
Luna’s Spolarium (1884) inspired several artists in music and creative writing
to produce works related to this powerful painting.
In 1884, Luna’s Spolarium presented the different aspects of Philippine Life.
Music
The Beatles’ song “A Hard Day’s Night” (1964) features John Lennon and Paul
McCartney’s genius that will influence generations of musicians to create
songs that challenge the norm.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote the song “A Hard Day’s Night” (1964)
which is considered as on of the Beatles’ greatest hits in their illustrious
career.
How to avoid plagiarism of Language?
1. USE DIRECT QUOTATIONS
This is employed for statements that are so closely associated that altering
the words may lose its rhetorical impart. For instance, the statement of Ninoy
Aquino, “The Filipino is worth dying for” is too short to summarized, and the
rhetorical impact of the work is lessened if the statement is paraphrase.
Samples:
Using direct quotations means to lift text and enclose them in quotation
marks. In addition to the author’s name, the page numbers are included.
“Globalization is just a covert for colonization.” (Reyes, 1994, p. 2).
If the text is too long, you may omit certain parts and replace them with an
ellipsis (3 dots).
“Smartphones resulted from global innovations in technology… and
therefore, consumers need to be updated on the latest trends if they want
to maximize opportunities offered by these gadgets to make daily
activities more convenient.” (De Claro, 2010, p.7)
Interpolation may be done to insert notes within the directly quoted passage
to help readers understand the context of the statement. Interpolation is
marked by open and closed brackets.
“De Quiros, Zabala, Uy, and Lee believe that the education sector
should address the material conditions of schools to improve teaching and
learning.” (Danao, 2011, p. 7).
“[Educators] believe that the education sector should address the
material conditions of schools to improve teaching and learning.” (Danao,
2011, p. 7).
Summarizing
A summary is a brief overview of an entire discussion or argument. You might
summarize a whole research paper or conversation in a single paragraph, for
example, or with a series of bullet points, using your own words and style.
Guidelines in Summarizing
Make sure to read the text thoroughly and highlight important details in text.
After getting the main idea/s, use your own words in your summary but make
sure to check if the relationships between ideas established.
When done with your summary, recheck your output with the original. Make
sure that you don’t stray from the original text.
Paraphrasing
When you paraphrase, you use your own words to express something that
was written or said by another person.
Putting it into your own words can clarify the message, make it more relevant
to your audience , or give it greater impact.
Guidelines in Paraphrasing
Read the thoroughly, noting both main ideas and supporting details.
After identify these, carefully state the major and minor points in your own
words. Relationship between these ideas must be observed.
When paraphrase is done, compare your work with the original intentions of
the author.
Types of Paraphrasing
1. Literal - Replaces vocabulary terms from original text
2. Structural - Changes the sentence structure as well as the word class of key
words
3. Alternative - Writer poses questions about the text; s/he answers these
questions with her/his own words
Planning Essays and Presentations
Thesis Statement
The overall idea or argument of your work.
It is a general statement that presents essential points that leads the reader
to the right direction.
It makes all parts of your work stick together.
Qualities of a Good Thesis Statement
A thesis statement is always framed as declarative statement.
A good thesis statement is focused, meaning it provides supporting points
that strengthen the main claim.
A good thesis statement has clear boundaries. It sets limits as to what the
essay intends to explore.
Topic Sentence
It serves as the main idea of a paragraph.
It contains at least two supporting points which are developed in succeeding
paragraphs.
Usually has just one supporting point.
Outline
Together with the thesis statement, the outline is a helpful tool for
organizing your work. Outline shows the logical arrangement of ideas to be
included in your essay.
In preparing your outline, there are two things to remember – outline
format and principles.
Two Types of Outline Format
1. Traditional Format - uses roman numerals, letters and numbers.
Example:
Title of Work: Units of a Research University
I. College of Medicine
A. Community Medicine
B. Pathology
II. College of Engineering
A. Industrial Engineering
B. Chemical Engineering
C. Mechanical Engineering
III. School of Fine Arts
A. Painting
B. Sculpture
IV. College of Liberal Arts
A. Political Sciences
B. History
C. LIterature
2. Standard Format - uses numbers
Example:
Title of Work: Units of a Research University
1.0 College of Medicine
1.1 Community Medicine
1.2 Pathology
2.0 College of Engineering
2.1 Industrial Engineering
2.2 Chemical Engineering
2.3 Mechanical Engineering
3.0 School of Fine Arts
3.1 Painting
3.2 Sculpture
4.0 College of Liberal Arts
4.1 Political Sciences
4.2 History
4.3 Literature
Principles to consider in Outlining
1. Parallelism - entries should observe the same language structure (e.g.,
words, phrases, sentences)
2. Coordination - Entries should observe levels of importance.
3. Subordination – entries should observe differences of importance (which
ideas should be classified as minor or major ideas?)
4. Division - Entries should at least be two to be sure that supporting points of
a major idea are adequate.
Essay
An essay is a non-fictional piece of writing that represents a certain idea, give
arguments, and encourages discussion.
An essay is similar to research in that it requires planning and execution.
Writing essays requires preparatory steps.
1. Determining the topic, purpose, role and audience for the work.
2. Expanding subtopics. This requires determining the scope of the work.
3. Collecting Sources and making notes.
4. Brainstorming, forming the thesis statement, and outlining.
5. Drafting
6. Peer evaluation and revision.
The system of the American Psychological Association (APA) is used in
preparing a list of references.
The following are guidelines for organizing your reference list.
1. Entries should be arranged alphabetically with the surname of the authors as
points of reference. In cases where there is no author, the title of the work
becomes the first part of the entry.
2. The hanging indent format should be observed when writing entries. This
means that the first line of the first entry is not indented while the succeeding
lines are indented.
Books (Single authored books, Books with two authors, books with an editor
and books with no author)
General Format
Author’s surname, Initials (year of publication). Title of work (set in italics).
Place of Publication: Publisher.
Periodicals (Journals, Newspapers, and Magazines)
General Format
Surname of the Author/s, initials (year of publication). Title of the article.
Title of the periodical, volume (issue numbers), page numbers.
Online sources
Author, Initials or Institution. (date of retrieval). Title of work. Retrieved
from Website
